Somebody Call PETA
by DM-Slyth
Summary: Hedwig................ er.......... suffers..........
1. Default Chapter

Hermione Granger groaned as she read the last sentence of the encyclopediac-ish book of The Ancient History of the Maeldvin Empire. She had finished reading all her 15 books that she had bought from Diagon Alley yesterday and decided, due to lack of anything better to do, to re-read them. A faint hoot interrupted her thoughts. She spun around and saw a snowy owl swooping down from the azure skies and heading towards her window...............  
  
SPLAT!!!  
  
............ her closed window.  
  
Hermione gasped and stared at the window where the flattened face of Hedwig was slowly sliding down the surface of the glass. A few seconds later, her eyes burnt from staring, bringing her back to reality. She ran to her window to help Hedwig but the owl had already slid down the windowpane.  
  
A scream rang out.  
  
Hermione quickly unlatched her window, pushed it open and looked below. Hedwig had plopped onto Mrs Granger's head and Mrs Granger was shrieking hysterically like a deranged woman. Mr. Granger, who had stopped mowing the lawn to watch his wife, did nothing to help except to repeat the word 'ha' continuously while clutching his stomach and gasping for air.  
  
  
[the burrow]  
  
A boy in a pyjamas too big for him was staring at the cloudless night sky from the small bedroom window. He sighed, averted his eyes from the blazing stars and headed to his bed; but not before casting a hopeful glance at the dark sky again.  
  
"What's taking Hedwig?"  
  
The bedroom door opened and a gangly redhead entered yawning. "You'd better get some sleep Harry. We're going to the train station very early in the morning tomorrow. Dad has some urgent meeting with the Ministry at ten in the morning and he'll be dropping us at the station before he goes to work."  
  
Harry nodded, "Okay, Ron. I'm just worried about Hedwig."  
  
"Aw don't worry about Hedwig," Ron said as he climbed onto his bed and into the covers, "Hermione will take excellent care of her."  
  
"I know," Harry began and Ron gave him a 'Well-Then?' look. "I just feel that something bad has happened..."  
  
Ron groaned and switched off the lights. "As far as I know, Crookshanks isn't fond of owl meat. With that piece of information confirmed, what could possibly have gone wrong?"  
  
  
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'Oh Lord' was the only thing Doctor Cale could say when he saw Hedwig. Her beak was slightly crooked, her body was battered and bruised and her wings were broken.  
  
Harry's loyal pet was immediately rushed to the Intensive Care Unit in the vet hospital. And now in the waiting room, together with her father, Hermione Granger placed her head in her hands. Hedwig was not dead..... but there was no way she could be certain that it would continue to breathe after a few more minutes. How was she going to explain to Harry about the series of violent incidents today? The window incident had crushed Hedwig's face. Her mother went out of control and stomped on Hedwig a few times after it fell from her head to the hard ground. As if the stompings were not enough, she kicked the owl hard, sending it flying through the air and out of the Granger's garden to the asphalt road where it was run over by a passing truck.  
  
[THE END] 


	2. Continuation

The ticking of the clock made Hermione restless. Her father had fallen asleep on the couch. She glanced at the clock hanging from the wall in front of her. 8:55 p.m. They had been waiting in the hall for more than two hours.  
  
And for the last two hours, Hermione had tried to be optimistic. She had told herself countless of times that Hedwig would come out of the I.C.U. fine, in hope that these hopeful words would deafen her irritating inner voice screaming that the goddamn animal had no chance to live. 'Besides,' her inner voice had said, 'Harry could afford another owl.'  
  
Even if Hermione had agreed with her inner voice, she could not afford to lose her friendship with Harry. They had gone through so much together and it would do her reputation endless good being best friends with the-boy-who-lived. It had gone well last year when the Daily Prophet sparked the rumour about her being Harry's gilfriend. The howlers had only increased the amount of publicity she received. Who knew what was in store for her this year?  
  
Mr. Granger's snores shook Hermione out of her reverie. Hermione Granger frowned. Muggle technology could never save Hedwig. She had to do something. She had to get Hedwig to Madam Pomfrey whom she knew could cure almost anything. Hedwig's injuries were physical, and not caused by dark magic. Madam Pomfrey could heal Hedwig in a jiffy.  
  
Dr. Cale burst out of the Intensive Care Unit and slammed the door behind him. An old nurse who was passing by the hall hissed at him, "Where are you manners, boy?!" He ignored her and stalked to where Hermione was standing.  
  
"Good news and bad news," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead with a hankerchief, "Your owl is still alive but only barely. Her chances of surviving tomorrow or the day after that is very slim."  
  
Hermione nodded, worried.  
  
Dr. Cale looked behind his shoulder to check if the hall was empty before leaning closer to Hermione. "Look," he began with a low voice, "Why don't we just put her to sleep?"  
  
Hermione stared at him with a horrified look on her face.  
  
The vet doctor sighed with exasperation, "I mean, even if she survives, with this kind of injuries, she'll have to suffer throughout her life. Besides, I'll have to continue looking after the owl for the whole night before someone takes over my shift and my favourite TV programme starts in 45 minutes."  
  
"No," Hermione said firmly.  
  
Doctor Cale gave her a desperate look.  
  
"No," Hermione repeated, "I don't care if she suffers, I just want her alive. And you could always record the TV programme and watch it later."  
  
"But it's not the same!" The doctor whined.  
  
They continued arguing for about 15 more minutes.  
  
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The room was pitch-black. Ron's snores played only a minor role in keeping him awake. Harry rolled to his side and grimaced in pain.  
  
His scar was throbbing.  
  
No, not the scar on his forehead, but the one on his hand where a disgruntled Hedwig had pecked him hard. His owl's brutal retaliation to his ingratitude for her had left an ugly mark on his right hand. The excruciating burning sensation coarsing through the veins in his hand had rendered him wide-awake. And seriously worried.  
  
Did something happen to Hedwig? Was she alright? Could she have gotten lost? Did she abandon me for a male owl?  
  
Unanswered questions flooded Harry's mind. Confusion enveloped him and threw him into a pool of anxiety. A tear rolled down his cheek. Suddenly, a realisation struck him. He bolted out of his bed and out of Ron's room. He needed to empty his bowels.  
  
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"I know someone who can cure my owl," Hermione said, "But I have to take her from this hospital to somewhere else, therefore I need to bring all those tubes, bags filled with liquid and whatever you use on my owl."  
  
"Fine, but it's too risky," Dr. Cale replied, a tad annoyed that there was someone out there who could do a better job than him, "There's no one to monitor her condition and anything could happen to her along the way."  
  
"I'll take the risk, Doctor, " Hermione snapped, using McGonagall's stern tone, "I'll pick her up tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., is that understood?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure your father pays the hospital bills."  
  
Mr. Granger who had woken up during the argument [which Hermione had won] laughed. "Come on, Herm, let's go home. We have a long day tomorrow."  
  
Hermione smiled and followed her father out of the automatic doors. She'd be back at Hogwarts tomorrow. And Hedwig'd be back to normal.  
  
Doctor Cale watched as the two figures retreated to the exit and disappeared. He sighed and re-entered the I.C.U. It seemed as if he had no choice but to sacrifice watching Will and Grace for the fifth time. 


End file.
